Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eating
Asahi
JAPANESE $
(6 Bakehouse Lane; mains $11-20; 9am-3pm Mon, 9am-9pm Tue-Sat)
Excellent for a sushi
fix, with good bento boxes ($21.50).
Casablanca
TURKISH, CAFE $$$
(
www.casablancacafenz.co.nz
; 336 Hibiscus Coast Hwy; mains $13-30; 10am-late Mon-Fri, 9am-
late Sat & Sun)
Turkish, North African and Mediterranean flavours feature at this buzzy
cafe. Try the hearty baked Moorish eggs and you'll be set for the next chapter of your
Kiwi road trip.
Information
Orewa Information Centre
( 09-426 5338;
www.orewabeach.co.nz
;
40-46 Orewa Sq;
9am-3.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-noon Sat)
Part of the local Citizens Advice Bureau.
Getting There & Away
Direct buses run between Orewa and Albert St in the city (adult/child $10.30/6.10, 1¼
hours), as well as Shakespear Regional Park (adult/child $1.90/1.10, 50 minutes) and
Waiwera (adult/child $1.90/1.10, 10 minutes).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Waiwera
This pleasant river-mouth village has a great beach, but it's the
wai wera
(hot waters)
that people come here for. Warm mineral water bubbles up from 1500m below the sur-
face to fill the 19 pools of the
Waiwera Thermal Resort
( 09-427 8800;
www.waiwera.co.nz
;
21 Main Rd; adult/child $26/15; 9am-9pm)
. There's a movie pool, 10
big slides, barbecues, private tubs ($40) and a health spa. Luxury modern houses have
also been built nearby (doubles $180); enquire about indulgence packages.
Squeezed between the Waiwera and Puhoi Rivers, the exquisite 134-hectare
Wender-
holm Regional Park
( 09-366 2000;
www.arc.govt.nz
;
sites per adult/child $13/6, houses
$120-145)
has a diverse ecology, abundant bird life, beaches and walks (30 minutes to 2½
Sun, daily Jan)
, the original homestead dating from the 1860s, is now a museum. The
